Review: Siege: The Cabal

Brian Michael Bendis, for all his massive talent on books like Powers, Alias, Daredevil, etc… has a serious and fundamental problem with event comics.  Specifically, with the ideas of ’cause’ and ‘effect’.  Which is to say, his conclusions have nothing to do with the stories that precede them.  After a few issues of exciting or emotional storytelling, it often peters off into a confused mess of nonsense meant to have ‘gravity’ that really just functions as a way to say “This is where Marvel wanted the status quo to be at the end of the story.”  But with Siege limited to four issues, I figured it was worth it to give one of my formerly favorite writers another shot.

Siege: The Cabal is for the most part utterly disposable.  While some things of note happen, the only BIG one is telegraphed on the book’s cover – the falling out between Doom and the overstepping Norman Osborn.  Still, Bendis actually does a good job here of giving people motives and then following through on those motives, making the proceedings believable, enjoyable and intense.  Each of the main players are distinctly characterized, the dialogue is quick and functional, and the brief action is exciting and surprising, though he plays a particularly obnoxious game in his efforts to hide Osborn’s super-weapon from us.

Lark turns in good work, as Lark always does.  While most artists have little trouble keeping action scenes energetic and exciting (and Lark is definitely capable of that), a strength of his art here is that he (along with Gaudiano and Hollingsworth on inks and colors respectively) also does an excellent job with Bendis’ extended talking heads scenes, using the layout, shadows and angles to help keep the reader’s attention where it needs to be.

Siege: The Cabal also provides a brief, unnecessary preview of the upcoming event that does little to flatter it.  Even Loki essentially says, “This is how Civil War started – let’s do it again!”  If you enjoy minis with dimwitted heroes accidentally murdering thousands of people in an effort to start a frankly unbelievable witch hunt against a subsection of the population, well, then it looks like you can either read Siege or just go read your back-issues of Civil War.  For now, however, those who are excited for the upcoming event will probably find something to get excited about in Siege: The Cabal.  It may be disposable, but it’s still well-crafted.

Grade: B

- Cal Cleary

Marvel’s SIEGE Primer

That’s right, folks. Desiato is back and ready to talk some Marvel.

Spoilers abound for this one.

 

I’ve done this previously for Dark Reign and War of Kings, and I thought, as the resident Marvel guy lurking in the shadows of a generally DC heavy comic review blog, this is the perfect time to make a triumphant (but most likely short lived) comeback to the world of read/RANT. So let’s talk some Marvel. More specifically, let’s talk SIEGE. Bendis! Coipel! Only four issues! It’s got a strong chance of being pretty awesome. Time to break it down, see where we’ve been and where we’re going, specifically pertaining to the last two months or so of Dark Reign continuity.

As a quick proviso, this article is going to focus on Norman Osborne. To find out what’s going on with the rest of the Cabal, I’m going to be putting up a sort of “Where are they now?” article on my own blog, Musings of the Alpha Primitive. This is partially to be self-serving, and partially because I don’t want this article to be 4,000 words long. That should be posted in a week or so, and I’ll probably update this article with the link when I’ve done it.

By the time folks read this, Dark Avengers #11 will most likely have been released. It comes out on Wednesday. I get my books online through Discount Comic Book Service (the best folks in the planet in many ways), and will not be receiving my copy until the end of the month (which, while lame, is a hell of a lot better than paying cover price).So bear in mind that this Siege preview is being written without the added detail of anything that happened in that issue.

So let’s talk about the most recent pertinent points first. We’ve navigated through just about all of The List. I remember when the list was announced, I was perturbed by the idea of 8 $4 one-shots coming out within a month or two. I wasn’t going to buy them. At the time, I was enjoying, but not totally enamored with Dark Reign. But then I saw the creative teams. Fraction and Davis on X-Men. Bendis and Djurdjevik on Avengers. Remender and JRJR on Punisher. Hickman and Ed McGuinness on Secret Warriors. These are stacked creative teams that are worthy of a $4 purchase (or, in my case, about $2.20 thanks to DCBS). And they were all great. I didn’t read Daredevil and didn’t order Spider-Man because I don’t read those ongoings. But maybe I should have, considering the quality of the other books (and I’m sure I’m going to pick them up during con season on the cheap next year). The List rekindled my interest in Dark Reign.

Add to that the monumental achievement that was World’s Most Wanted, Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca’s world-spanning Iron Man epic that has taken a year to tell (and, honestly, how often do you see twelve issue story arcs these days, especially in ongoing titles?), and Dark Reign has kicked into overdrive. Norman Osborne’s armor is weakening. His hold on the world and his own sanity is slipping. The members of the Cabal are splintering, creating their own alliances against Norman and HAMMER. Everything is coming to a head. Siege is, as some of us know thanks to J Michael Straczynski, at its core the siege of Asgard. We know this, because this is apparently why JMS left the Thor book, because he didn’t want to deal with the crossover. We also know a few other things based on some teaser images that have been released in the past few weeks.

1. Asgard is in trouble. One of the teaser images that has been released is the picture of a burning Asgard plummeting to the ground. It’s still in Oklahoma, and the neighboring sleepy town looks to be in trouble (considering that Asgard is landing directly in the center of it). Considering that the whole point of Siege is Norman Osborne storming Asgard, nothing about this should come as a surprise. But let’s keep some things in mind. First, the Asgardians as we know them are not actually in Asgard right now. Loki, Baldur, basically everyone but Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three are currently in Latveria. Secondly, considering the last panel of World’s Most Wanted, featuring Donald Blake in his Oklahoma hotel room alongside Pepper Potts, Captain America (Bucky) and Black Widow, and that Blake has power of attorney in Tony Stark’s living will and is presumably going to get him, there’s a decent chance that the BIG THREE (and I mean big three, as Cap Reborn should be wrapping up to the extent that I fully expect Steve Rogers to be back with the shield by the beginning of Siege) will be using Asgard as their headquarters/staging ground preparing for some kind of attack on Osborne when he brings the heat to Oklahoma. One would assume that the big three will also bring in folks like the Mighty Avengers to join the cause (probably the X-Men too, but I don’t know if the scope of the book is such that they want everyone involved).

2. Norman Osborne has a secret weapon. This goes all the way back to Dark Reign: The Cabal, and the shadowy figure that Norman’s been using to keep the rest of the Cabal in line. There has been much speculation, and now we’ve got two pieces of information to help us narrow some things down. The first is a teaser image of Norman surrounded by seven pictures and a “WHO IS NORMAN OSBORNE’S SECRET WEAPON?” tag line at the top, and the second is the end to Dark Avengers #10. These are obviously linked, considering that three of the characters are in both images. Let’s take a look at who’s on the teaser image first to get a sense of the possibilities.
2a. Thanos. No chance in hell. This is a red herring. One, the fact that they specifically chose an image of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet is too loaded of an image. Take also into consideration the utter arrogance of Thanos, and that there’s no way he would ever go along with someone like Osborne. Plus, there’s the fact that he’s dead. And Abnett and Lanning would probably be a little annoyed if one of the supreme cosmic characters of the Marvel universe suddenly shows up parading around a crossover on earth. Odds: Eleventy-billion to one
2b. Odin. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m getting the no chance in hells out of the way first. Most of the reasoning behind Thanos can also be attributed to Odin. He’s arrogant, and would be exceedingly unlikely to consider Osborne an equal deserving of his time. He’s also dead, and while he did hold a grudge against Thor for not resurrecting him after the most recent Ragnarok, they reconciled during the two issue Thorsleep arc in JMS’ run. Not gonna happen. Odds: 200,000,000,000 to one
2c. Nate Grey. X-Man, eh? So I’m not reading many of the X books. I’m reading Uncanny, but that’s basically it. Dark X-Men seems to be the book that features the return of X-Man, and while I probably should have bought it considering that Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk are piloting the series. Nate’s an omega level mutant, and he’s one of the many folks in this teaser that can actively alter reality. From my perspective, Nate Grey lacks the punch that would be needed to really make Siege pop. Not enough folks would really get enough out of Nate Grey being the big secret baddie. It’s more plausible than Odin or Thanos, but it’s definitely unlikely. Odds: 999 to one
2d. Mephisto. See, now we’re talking. Mephisto has some definite possibilities. He’s definitely shown that he’ll work with anyone if the price is right. And Norman’s definitely crazy enough to have no compunction to make a deal with the devil. Some folks have been attempting to make a link between Mephisto as Norman’s secret weapon and the events of One More Day as a sort of kill two birds situation. I don’t see that happening. Personally, Mephisto’s up there. He works perfectly well in this situation. He could legitimately keep folks in line. Plus, he’s in the last panel of issue ten of Dark Avengers (for the information of those not in the know, Dark Avengers 10 ends with a double page spread featuring Norman Osborne being confronted by a new Dark Cabal consisting of Enchantress, Zarathos, Mephisto, The Beyonder, and Molecule Man on a throne of skulls). Odds: 10 to one
2e. Molecule Man. Molecule Man has some potential and some problems. Rich Johnston leaked some things about Norman’s secret weapon having the MM initials, which certainly points to Molecule Man, but one would think that if this were the case, you might not necessarily give that away at the end of Dark Avengers. But Molecule Man was certainly in power, especially considering his sitting on a throne of skulls and all, and if he can exert his will to dominate folks like Mephisto and The Beyonder, we should probably watch the hell out. Sure, he’s not necessarily dominating these folks, but he’s definitely in the place of power. Of course, there’s also the fact that Norman is completely insane and could be imagining it all. But, if he is imagining it all, is he doing it for a reason? Is it because he’s worried he could lose control of his secret weapon? Hard to say, but I think Molecule Man is, in a way, a little too good of a fit. He doesn’t have a strong personality, and could easily be convinced by Osborne to be his ace in the hole. Odds: 7 to one
2f. The Beyonder. It seems to be the case that Bendis has been itching to use the Beyonder in some capacity. New Avengers: Illuminati #3 was all about The Beyonder. There was heavy speculation that he was pulling the strings during Secret Invasion. He’s been on the cusp of involvement for a while, and he would absolutely scare the shit out of the other Cabal members (and extra points for having a specific grudge with Doom). Of course, this could easily be Bendis continuing to mess with us by dangling The Beyonder just out of reach; only this time he’s actually appearing on panel. I like The Beyonder as the secret weapon. I think it works well. A mix of the old and the new. Personally, this would be my choice, though I don’t necessarily think it’s the most likely. Odds: 4 to one
2g. Scarlet Witch. When was the last time we saw Bendis and Coipel working together on a big project? House of M. COINCIDENCE?!?!?! The return of Scarlet Witch would bring quite a few things full circle. It would play off Loki’s recent actions in Mighty Avengers. Hawkeye would continue to go nuts, especially considering New Avengers #26. Scarlet Witch, in many ways, started the ball rolling. She’s the most unstable of the reality-alterers in the mix. She would scare anyone into service, because she’s capable of anything. House of M proved that. Much like Molecule Man, this might be too perfect. But Scarlet Witch has been off the table for a long time, and this might be a worthy moment for her return. Odds: 3 to one
2h. Someone else. There are other possibilities. Dormammu, for one, as he does have ties to The Hood, who’s probably been the most on Osborne’s side throughout most of Dark Reign. The Void would manage to not only keep the Cabal in line, but would also act as a safety net to cover The Sentry. Marvelman was a popular guess after Rich Johnston’s MM leak, but I think it’s too soon for Marvelman to hit the main Marvel U. I’d like to believe it’s one of the folks on the teaser, and that it’s not a bait and switch situation.

3. Some flying shadow dude. There’s another teaser image of a shadowed figure flying above New York City as the denizens of the city look on in a mixture of shock, awe, and terror. We all assume that this enshadowed figure is Norman’s secret weapon, though much of that could be because those two teasers were released at the same time. So who is it? The Beyonder with his white disco coat blowing in the wind like a cape? Scarlet Witch? The Void? Sentry? Who knows? What I do know is that I dig the image and it further whets my appetite for some Siege goodness.

Is there more to cover? Yeah, probably. But we’re going on 2,100 plus words now, so I think I’ve done enough damage in my return. If you want the lowdown on Dark Reign and Siege, make sure you’re following Dark Avengers, Invincible Iron Man, Utopia, and The List. That’ll help out the most for the major story points. And once again, keep a look out for my article on the Cabal over at Musings of the Alpha Primitive (yeah, I plugged it again).  You stay classy, read/RANT

Top 5 Best Comics of August 2009!

And the Summer’s over! Really? That…went fast. I had fun, though. Hope you all did, too. Back to school, kiddies! I read 20 comics in August, and these were the best.

 

5. Invincible Iron Man #16

Matt Fraction’s writing is absolutely top-notch. Yes, this story will read better as a whole, but our connection to Tony, Pepper, and Maria is so strong, it hardly matters. The only thing that brings this issue, and the entire series, down, is Salvador Larroca’s Greg Land-esque art.

My Review

4. Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1

Speaking of Summer, you like those blockbusters that accompany the season, right? Well then, this is the comic for you! Just some awesome-kickass, supercool fun! Mark Millar gives it to ya, and Carlos Pacheco makes it look pretty. This opening salvo features a bombastic helicopter fight and a terrifying new villain.

My Review

 

3. Secret Six #12

Like my previous selection, this too is filled with action and good times, only with more twisted villainy. But this comic also has character and soul, and that counts for a lot. This is Jeannette’s issue to shine, and I think she blinded me. Carlos Pacheco’s beautiful interiors certainly contribute to UCA’s placement, but you know what? I’d put Nicola Scott up against Carlos Pacheco any day. Yeah, you read that right.

DC Lebeau’s Review

 

2. Batman and Robin #3

Holy hell, Batman! This series just gets better and better! The first and second issue topped my list in their respective months, and it’s only by some Marvel miracle that this one didn’t. Since I don’t have a proper review of this issue, I want to go over a few things:

Professor Pyg’s “sexy disco hot.” Who else had this song in their head?

Any guesses on who was watching Alfred? Could it be the same person who spied on Bruce & Jezebel all those issues ago?

Awhile ago, DC said, “Scarlet isn’t who you think she is.” That was a damn lie, and I’m pretty sure Red Hood is who you think he is too.

Seventh Soldier’s Review

 

1. Daredevil #500

A phenomenal conclusion to what turned out to be a great run. Brubaker did DD proud, and definitely cast away Bendis’ shadow. On top of that, you get a great short story and a reprint of possibly the best Daredevil comic ever! Yeah, I’m pretty sure that this isn’t just the best comic in August, it’s the best Marvel comic of the year.

My Review

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Invincible Iron Man #16

 

Writing: “World’s Most Wanted” Part 9. This issue is all about that Tony/Pepper/Whitney confrontation that started last issue. The Black Widow and Maria Hill get a bit of screen-time too, with Maria dealing with the trauma inflicted in an earlier issue and Natasha trying to figure out what’s going on. Now, since this is Part 9, you may get the feeling that this story is dragging on. I can assure you, it’s not. What Fraction has done with this arc, and it’ll be more apparent in its conclusion, is present three completely defined characters. We’re deeply invested in the future of Tony, Maria, and Pepper. Because of that, this issue has quite an emotional punch.

Art: Salvador Larroca is a lot like Greg Land, isn’t he? They both have a cold, computerized look. They both have a few celebrity faces in their character-designs. And they both render some stiff-but-pretty images. At least Larroca’s figures tend to be more anatomically correct. So, if you’re a fan of Greg Land, you’ll love Salvador Larroca. If you’re not, I don’t think Larroca’s art will ruin the book for you.

Final Word: I was amazed at how emotionally attached I was to this issue. There’s humor here, and quite a bit of tragedy. Fraction also managed to showcase another one of Iron Man’s classic villains. We might be a bit too deep in the story now, but you should definitely check out “World’s Most Wanted” in trade. It’s a story worth reading.

Grade: B+

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Hulk #13

Writing: Hulk has been one of the titles, like Captain America and Thor, that has operated within its own continuity. Well, that ends this issue with that “Dark Reign” tag slapped on the cover. Thankfully, it’s really not that intrusive. Norman Osborn has heard that the Hulk is truly gone, which is what occurred in Incredible Hulk #600. So, he sends Ares to get to the bottom of it. What follows is a done-in-one story that involves Banner’s revelation that the Hulk really is gone, Ares reporting back to Osborn, and the reconciliation between Banner and an old friend.

Art: Of course, there’s a bit of fighting involved, which is McGuinness’ specialty. You want vein-bulging, muscular people pounding on each other? He’s your man. However, there are a lot of quieter moments in this issue too, and McGuinness did a good job rendering those as well. Hulk is always a good-looking comic, and this issue is no different.

Final Word: Done-in-one stories are always refreshing in this comic climate. Did the overall story of Loeb’s run progress much? Not enough for my liking, but this is still a quick, gorgeous comic that’ll keep you entertained from start to finish.

Grade: B

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Invincible Iron Man #15

Writing: This is part 8 of “World’s Most Wanted,” and it continues to chug along nicely. Though that “part 8″ can be daunting to new readers, this comic is still completely accessible. If you don’t know, Norman Osborn desires the juicy contents of Tony’s brain. No, he’s not Hannibal Lecter; it’s just that Tony’s brain holds sensitive information that could lead to the destruction of all his superhero pals. Tony’s solution? He’s slowly deleting his brain. Since we’re past the halfway mark, Tony is really struggling now, tugging at the heartstrings of everyone, including the fan that chanted for Iron Man’s death during Marvel’s Civil War.

Art: Larroca’s strongsuit is drawing all of the machinery that one usually sees in an Iron Man comic, but this issue doesn’t really have a single bit of that. Fraction continues to focus on the characters, and on this “Flowers for Algernon” reminiscent tearjerker, that means plenty of tender moments, that, frankly, Larroca just can’t handle. However, to my surprise, Larroca’s art didn’t bother me that much here. A backhanded compliment, for sure, but my point is, I hope Larroca can keep up the good work.

Final Word: Fraction continues to highlight the women of Iron Man’s life, while poor Tony is portrayed sympathetically. Could someone like Maria Hill or Pepper Potts ever take the place of Tony Stark? I don’t think Marvel or the fans would allow it, but Fraction is proving that both women are strong, heroic characters, worthy of putting on the suit. Fraction is telling a fantastic story here that’s completely accessible to fans, old and new.

Grade: B

For more comic goodness, go here.

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

 

The Writing: Fraction puts on his Claremont hat, going back to a theme that has been done to death. “Let’s make the X-Men about intolerance.” A fine message, for sure, but it’s all been done before in the X-Men. That said, Fraction is still writing better-than-the-rest here. He packs this issue full of cleverness. So, you get your money’s worth, but a lot of this stuff feels a bit unnecessary, and it all could’ve fit in a regular issue. But no, these X-Men events have to be oversized and feature Marc Silvestri art.

The Art: Silvestri is Silvestri. I’m not too fond of his work, but he’s a god to some. And, to be fair, he rendered one of the best X-Men tales ever, “Here Comes Tomorrow.” The problem here is that Silvestri needed four additional artists to provide the crowd for Fraction’s script. So, needless to say, all the additional pencilers create a slightly jarring reading experience, and a few continuity mistakes along the way. Also, and this is the problem with nearly every artist Fraction works with, Silvestri renders the action scenes well, but struggles with some of the quieter moments.

Final Word: The last page of this issue is supposed to have a big impact, but it’s already been spoiled. This is Marvel’s only crossover this summer, and, thankfully, it’s completely in Fraction’s hands. As a huge Fraction fan, I couldn’t be happier. However, this special, while good from a technical standpoint, doesn’t provide an interesting enough premise, and, really, isn’t very entertaining.

Grade: C+

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: New Avengers 54

In addition to Dark Avengers, I started picking up New Avengers as a result of my recent
Dark Reignexperience.  I had read New Avengers from time to time prior to Dark Reign, but invariably I would lose interest.  Dark Reign brought me back in spite of the fact that the current story in New Avengers is only tangentially related to the reign of Norman Osborn.

Truthfully, this isn’t really even an Avengers story.  It’s a Dr. Strange story in disguise.  I’ve always liked Dr. Strange more in principle than in practice.  While he has a cool costume and powers, he is generally used either for exposition or as a plot device.  So, I didn’t really have a great deal of interest in who would be chosen to replace him as the Sorcerer Supreme.

*Spoilers*

The fact that the eventual replacement turned out to be Brother Voodoo didn’t really heighten my interest at all.  While I’ve seen a few Brother Voodoo guest spots in my day, I don’t really know anything at all about the character.  However, Bendis did a pretty good job of introducing me to the character and making me like him (and his deceased brother I never knew existed).

The issue turned out to be a fairly by-the-numbers “passing the torch” story with Strange agreeing to serve as Voodoo’s mentor.  But the execution was strong enough to make up for the fact that the predictibility of the story.  Plus, there were cool mystical explosions like this:

That is exactly the sort of thing I want to see in a Dr. Strange story. 

After the battle concludes, Hellstrom gives the Avengers a dire warning which teases at yet another big Marvel event following Dark Reign (uh duh).  Then we get a rather intriguing scene with Loki visiting the defeated Hood.  And finally, we get back to Norman Osborn… which is perhaps the weakest part of the story.

read/RANT

Review: Dark Avengers 6

Recently, I spent a weekend catching up with Dark Reign.  I posted a lengthy rant about some of the problems I have with this event as a whole.  But I also noted that some of the individual comics grabbed my attention.  One such comic was Dark Avengers.  Dark Avengers is actually a book that is at the heart of Dark Reign.  As such, most of the problems I have with the premise of Dark Reign also apply to this mini-series.  Even so, there were aspects of Dark Avengers that grabbed my attention.

I think the thing I enjoyed the most about the previous issues was watching Norman Osborn form a relationship with the Sentry.  The two characters have a lot in common.  And Norman has definitely used that to his advantage.  This issue pays that relationship off in a pretty big way.

The story begins with Norman calling together yet another meeting of his Cabal.  I hate these scenes.  There’s no way I can see Loki, Dr. Doom or Namor sitting around a table at the beck and call of Norman Osborn.  Even if it were in their best interests to do so, these characters have huge egos.  I just can’t see them taking his crap.

That’s why it was somewhat refreshing to see Namor finally act like Namor and storm off in a huff when Norman demands that he turn on a group of Atlanteans that have attacked the surface world.  Although I still don’t believe for a second that Dr. Doom would just sit there sulking about being summoned to a meeting that has nothing to do with his interests.

Since Namor refused Norman’s request, he turns to the Sentry.  Actually, that’s not entirely true.  After months of telling Bob that there is no Void, Norman asks to speak with the Void directly.  And it is the Void that does Norman’s dirty work.  You know that;s going to have consequences.  And I am actually interested to see how it plays out.

The art is good.  Sometimes it was even great.  But I wish Mike Deodato didn’t draw Norman to look exactly like Tommy Lee Jones.  It is extremely distracting.

read/RANT

Review: Secret Warriors #5

Story: After four issues of boring talking, we get action, Jackson! Hickman throws in a few flashbacks, but it’s pretty much all “Krak!” and “Pow!”

Art: Well, this was Caselli’s issue to shine, and he did! Caselli is a capable artist. I’m not sure if his art is right for this series, since he struggles with many of the quieter moments, but on an all-action bonanza? He’s gold.

Final Word: Though this issue may seem as short as this review, I enjoyed every second of it. Hickman proved that he can write a good action scene, and he sold me on the characters and premise in the first four issues.

Grade: B+

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Invincible Iron Man #14

And we’re past the “World’s Most Wanted” halfway mark. That’s right. This arc is going to be twelve issues long. I can still remember it all, though, and that’s always a good thing. Fraction’s opening issues were used to tell a self-contained jumping-on point for new readers, riding high from the movie’s fumes. Since then, Fraction’s Iron Man has been knee-deep in Dark Reign, with a few continuity references as well. Thankfully, thanks to the talent of Matt Fraction, I don’t think new readers will be lost, and it’s one of the few Dark Reign tie-ins that is above-average.

In this arc alone, Fraction has turned Invincible Iron Man into an ensemble book, taking Maria Hill and Pepper Potts along for the ride. I’ve never really cared too much about those women before, but you can bet I do now. Pepper has become a superhero, and a true one at that, since the only thing she does is help people. Her armor doesn’t even have weapons. And Maria is practically a female James Bond.

So, each issue, we see the slow progression of the three characters’ journeys. Tony meets up with an old Russian pal, Maria finds one of the few friends she has left, and Pepper? Well, Pepper always does the right thing, even if it is a bit naive. The pacing runs along nicely, and we never feel too overcome with exposition. As for Larroca’s art, I’ve complained about it enough. I will say, though, that the one part of this book’s look that bothered me had nothing to do with Larroca. The lettering in this issue is bad. All of the captions, for all three characters, are too uniformed, and when you throw in a narrator as well? It’s just a complete mess.

Thanks to three main characters, we’re chugging along a bit slowly, but almost every issue features new players, laughs, and plenty of fun. This issue is no different. The last page is a nice cliffhanger, even though it does feel a bit forced.

Grade: B

For more comic goodness, go here.

Dark Reign Rant

 

If you’re a regular reader here (Do we even have regular readers?) then you probably know that I generally keep to DC comics.  But that hasn’t always been the case.  In my mis-spent youth, I read just about everything out there.  Gradually, I narrowed my focus to almost exclusively DC books.

In the last few years, I still kept a toe in the Marvel Universe by reading their big events.  Generally speaking, I didn’t read the tie-in books unless it was a book I was already reading.  But I found that these event books were extremely unsatisfying.  I decided to vote with my dollar and stopped supporting them after the train wreck that was Secret Invasion.

Recently, I decided to pick up an issue of Amazing Spider-man.  The circumstances were less than ideal.  It was part 3 of a 5-part story and a Dark Reign tie-in to boot.  But against all odds, I liked it.  My curiosity was piqued.  I resolved to give more Marvel books a try.

A friend of mine who has been following Dark Reign decided to sate my curiosity.  Over the weekend, he dropped off a pile of comics for my perusal.  As far as I can tell, it was basically every book that Marvel has released with a Dark Reign banner on it.  There had to be at least 100 comics.  There was no way I was ever going to make it through them all.

I did find the time to read a lot of them.  And those I didn’t read, I skimmed through.  I was surprised to enjoy just about every book I read.  But the “event” as a whole really leaves a lot to be desired.

First of all, I’ll state the obvious.  There’s no Dark Reign mini-series.  There’s no central storyline here.  Everything is a tie-in.  The closest thing to a central story is Dark Avengers, I suppose.  But it doesn’t really tie into any of the other books carrying the Dark Reign banner.  Dark Reign isn’t so much of a story as it is the current status quo of the Marvel Universe.

Marvel is marketing this thing like they would a cross-over event.  To say the least, this is misleading.  They’ve got that Dark Reign banner on 100 books and counting.  As best I can tell, if a book has anything to do with an past or present member of SHIELD, HAMMER or the Avengers, it gets the Dark Reign banner.  100 books in and I still haven’t found a hint of a beginning, a middle or an end.  It all feels like a massive cash-grab to me.

As I mentioned before, I enjoyed just about every one of the comics I read.  Part of this was due to selection.  I skimmed the books that didn’t interest me.  (Honestly, I skimmed a good 2/3rds of the pile.)  There were plenty of good stories being told.  The one thing they all had in common was a premise.  And frankly, that premise is flawed.

I imagine everyone reading this is aware that the premise of Dark Reign is that following Secret Invasion, Tony Stark was replaced as the director of SHIELD by Norman Osborn.  The Green Goblin himself has been given “unprecedented powers”.  There don’t seem to be any checks and balances to his powers the way there are in the real world.

Norman’s rise to power hinges on one event.  During the big battle with the Skrulls at the end of Secret Invasion, camera crews caught him picking up Reed Richard’s anti-skrull gun and blasting the bad guys with it.  A psychologically unstable mass-murderer picked up a weapon and shot a mutual enemy, and he is rewarded with the keys to the government.  Only in comics, people.

There are obviously some parallels between this situation and one that DC ran with a few years back.  I’m sure most people remember that the people of the DC Universe elected Lex Luthor as president instead of George W. Bush.  That storyline required a suspension of disbelief to be sure.  But it was a much easier story to buy than Dark Reign.

For one thing, Luthor has a better public image than Orborn.  Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Luthor was typically portrayed as a successful business man.  Only the readers and the heroes were aware of his sinister motivations.  Occasionally, DC would decide to have Luthor do something overtly evil, but they always had a cover story ready for the public at large.

Norman, on the other hand, has publicly acknowledged his history as the Green Goblin.  He’s talked a lot about second chances and chemical imbalances and whatnot.  But seriously, do you think anyone would allow a convicted felon to be appointed to a position of supreme military power?  How many government appointments have turned into scandals over lesser matters? 

Which brings me to my next point.  Luthor won an election whereas Norman was appointed.  On the surface, it may seem easier for a villain to be appointed than elected.  But, I’m going to say the opposite is true. 

At the time of the Luthor story, George W. Bush was elected as president despite losing the popular vote.  We all remember the “hanging chads” and other bizarre events that made headlines at the time.  With only a smidge of suspension of disbelief, it was relatively easy to buy that someone like Lex Luthor could buy an election. 

But a confessed looney like Norman Osborn would never even be a candidate for an appointed position.  Anyone who attempted to appoint him would suffer the political drubbing of a lifetime.

Making matters worse, the president in the Marvel Universe is the real life president.  Obama appears in issues of the Thunderbolts to test Osborn.  And while Osborn puts on a hell of a show to convince Obama he is a hero, there’s just no way a politically savy guy like Obama would allow a loose cannon like Osborn to be in charge of a massive super powered military, national security or any of the other things Osborn seems to be in control of. 

Even with a fictitious goofusof a president, this would be hard to believe.  Having Obama in office just makes it all the more ridiculous.

At several points, the books I read acknowledged that the central premise was far fetched.  Clint Barton goes on live television and publicly lists all of Norman’s crimes.  He accuses the Dark Avengers of being murderers and criminals.  And no one seems overly concerned.  In spite of the fact that during Civil War the public didn’t even trust Captain America, they are now willing to accept any masked character based on the say-so of a madman and convicted felon.

The heroes themselves have no idea how to respond.  I lost count of the number of times one Avenger told another Avenger to wait it out.  The theory seems to be that Osborn will screw up big eventually.  Well, of course he will.  We all know how the story is going to play out.  But should the Avengers really just sit on the sidelines waiting for a big, public screw-up while Norman sits in his office abusing his power?

In the Spider-man issue I reviewed, Spidey decided to get pro-active.  His answer was to pose as Venom and infiltrate the Dark Avengers. 

Several characters (including Spidey himself) pointed out that it was a stupid plan.  And Spidey pays the price.  Wouldn’t it be 1,000 times easier to arrange a public unmasking of Norman’s Avengers?  Seriously, one snap shot of Bullseye as Hawkeye and this story should be over.  How hard could it possibly be to bait these guys into screwing up their public image?

That brings me to another point.  There’s really no one to root for in Dark Reign.  The heroes are all sitting on their hands while the villains take center stage.  At some point in the future, they are going to self destruct.  That’s the story?!?

The hero who has been the most impacted by Dark Reign is Tony Stark.  I’ve never been the biggest Iron Man fan.  And Civil War really made me hate the character.  So, I have to admit I kind of enjoyed seeing him on the outs.  But even as low as Tony is now, I’m still not rooting for the guy. 

It’s really hard to feel sorry for Tony seeing as how he appointed Norman Osborn to head the Thunderbolts to begin with.  Tony got in bed with Norman, Bullseye and Venom when he ran the show.  No surprise it bit him in the ass.

Every now and then I found myself asking, “Is Norman Osborn really all that much worse than Tony Stark?”  Well, of course he is.  Tony is portrayed as a hero who made some bad decisions in tough times whereas Norman is a psycho who portrays himself as a hero. 

But, if you really look at their actions objectively, both Norman and Tony abused their power to further their interests.  They both believe that the ends justify the means.  The Marvel Universe as a whole doesn’t seem to be any worse off under Osborn than it was under Stark.  They are both just different shades of grey.

The shame of it is that a lot of the comics that tie into Dark Reign are good comics.  You just have to get past the absurd premise.  Sometimes, that can be hard to do.  But if you can, there’s some good super hero stories being told.

In the last few years, I’ve gotten really leery of big event comics.  Frankly, I can’t think of one that really delivered the goods.  (As good as Final Crisis was, it made for a pretty dismal event.)  Dark Reign seems to exemplify just about everything I’ve hated about recent Marvel event-driven stories.

It’s bloated.  I pity anyone who (like my friend) feels compelled to buy every chapter.  He’s already hundreds of dollars in the hole.  I bet he’ll have invested a grand in Dark Reign before it’s done.  That’s crazy!

The premise requires the characters involved to behave out of character in order to further the plot.  In this case, the entire Marvel Universe is acting out of character.

And while it’s too early to know for sure, the ending is likely to be an anti-climax that leads directly into Marvel’s next big event.  I mean, how else can this end?  Given Marvel’s track record with ending big events lately, I’ve learned to expect the worst.

On the upside, I’m probably going to be reading a few Marvel books for a little while.  And by any measure, that’s a success for Marvel.  But despite a few good reads in the bunch, I couldn’t help getting in a good rant about the larger issues.

read/RANT

Review: Amazing Spider-Man #597

Before I dig into this issue, let me give you a few disclaimers.  I’m a DC guy.  I’ve all but abandoned Marvel.  For a while, I was following the big events.  But Secret Invasion left a really foul taste in my mouth.  The first issue of Dark Reignmore or less chased me out of the Marvel Universe.

Back when I was reading more Marvel, I casually read Spider-man.  I liked a lot of JMS’ run, but the last few years were pretty bad.  From “The Other” on, it seemed like the Spider-books were constantly being derailed by cross-overs and events.  “One More Day” was as bad as everyone says it is.  And while I liked the first issue of “Brand New Day” it wasn’t enough to keep me coming back for more.

So, on a whim, I picked up this issue.  It’s in the middle of the story and I have very little background info on Peter’s current status quo or these Dark Avengers guys.  But you know what?  I liked it.  I liked it a lot.

Way back in the day, I was a big fan of Joe Kelly.  His run on Deadpool still holds up.  But gradually, he got into more experimental story-telling.  And eventually, he just lost me.  His run on Supergirl was horrendous.  But I was pleasantly surprised to see the Joe Kelly of old on this book.  Kelly’s always been good with the one-liners.  And that makes him a perfect match for Spider-man.

The story itself is a pretty simple one.  Peter poses as Venom to try to infiltrate the Dark Avengers.  It’s a pretty stupid plan as is pointed out repeatedly.  It doesn’t take long for Peter to be discovered.  And the only one who can save him is Harry Osborne.  But where do Harry’s loyalties lie?

I’m impressed that someone with as little background information as I have can jump into the story mid-way and pick up everything I needed to know.  It was a simple story engagingly told and I’m looking forward to the next chapter.

Could this be the start of something?

For more comic goodness, go here.

The Iron Patriot Acts?

 

What the hell is this?

Where are Tony and Bucky (And maybe Steve)?

Review: Secret Warriors #4

I want to talk about a crackpot theory, so let me get the issue out of the way, quick.

This is a breather issue. Daisy and Sebastian try to recruit a new member because of Yo-Yo’s tragedy last issue. Fury gets his Howling Commandos back in order, with plenty of “old friends” talk. J.T. and Alex invade Fury’s privacy. The “Hydra Cabal” (Has this group been named yet? Oh well, it’s a Dark Reign comic, so “Hydra Cabal” it is) plots their villainous deeds. Even though that may sound boring, it isn’t. I’m thoroughly onboard this series. It’s nice to see Hickman and Caselli improve every issue. I’m excited for the next issue because, literally, at the end of this, we get: “You’ve been patient, you’ve been kind. Next month, all hell breaks loose! It’s the Howling Commandos vs. Hydra vs. H.A.M.M.E.R.”

Ok, now onto something that piqued my interest. I knew that Fury and Strucker were parallels. Besides the whole nemesis business, you have their eyes as well. Fury lost his left eye, and Strucker lost his right. Also, they both view things in black and white terms. They’re willing to get the job done, no matter the cost. Already, in this series alone, one blew up their own base, population in the thousands, just to get rid of the Skrull problem. The other is using children to do his dirty work, a decision that has already crippled one of the kids. Again, heroes and villains have this thing going on all the time, but in this issue, we have some religious ties. The book that Stonewall is reading Yo-Yo is “Angels With Monster Feet. Monsters With Angel Wings.” Dum Dum tells Fury they’re doing “the lord’s work.” When Madame Hydra speaks of Nick Fury, Gorgon comments, “You speak of him as if  he were something other than a man.” Also, one of Hydra’s ancient headquarters is Gehenna. Lastly, Fury and Strucker both used the same codes (In issue #1 and #2). Fury is a Gemini and Strucker is a Sagittarius. I’m no expert on the Zodiac, but I do know that Gemini is a symbol of duality, and that Fury’s birthday could be on June sixth.

So, what does all of this nonsense mean? Well, some of it could be Apophenia, some of it could be Hickman’s intention, but only to be seen symbolically. Or, is it possible that Fury and Strucker are God and the Devil? Maybe I’m thinking of this because the Devil just popped up in Batman, but certainly there’s something big going on here, right? Anyway, this is quite possibly the Marvel title I’m currently most excited about.

Grade: B+

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Invincible Iron Man #13

(***1/2)

I love Matt Fraction’s writing. I don’t love Salvador Larroca’s art. I just don’t like his style. Don’t get me wrong, he renders machines wonderfully. If this series was about the suits, Larroca would be fine, but Fraction is writing about the characters. This story is about Tony, Pepper, and Maria. Each of those characters has their own distinct voice, and it’s a lot of fun to read about their adventures. But just to be clear, no matter how good Fraction’s writing is, Larroca’s art hinders this book.

On the bright side, I still love this arc. We’re only about halfway through, which makes this one of the longest Iron Man stories, but it will probably be one of the best. Besides handling the characters brilliantly, Fraction’s also throwing every villain he can at poor Tony. No matter how great or obscure, just about everyone who’s tackled the “Golden Avenger” is making an appearance. Some of the more obscure villains are getting modern updates, like the Controller. It’s always nice to see lame villains cause fear.

Invincible Iron Man is one of the few books right now that’s using the new “Dark Reign” status quo effectively. The fact that Fraction is able to pull off a great Iron Man story while servicing Marvel’s current event is impressive. Don’t let the Larroca art repel you, stay for the great characters.

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Dark Reign: The Cabal

(**)

“Forgettable and useless.” Sounds harsh, but that’s the name of the game. I’m a Matt Fraction completionist, so that’s why I bought it. I’ll never read it again and I’ll forget about it in a month or so. It’s basically an advertisement for titles like Uncanny X-Men and Thor.

Now, does that mean that what is here is terrible? No. Marvel must have told the creators involved to write about whatever the hell they wanted. The five stories break down like this:

Doom wants to kill everybody.

A deeper look at Emma Frost (The Fraction tale, and probably my favorite).

The Hood is keeping a secret.

Namor is Solomon-esque.

Loki is trying to move in with Doom (That’s old news).

I’d only recommend this to hardcore fans of the creators or characters involved.

For more comic goodness, go here.

Review: Dark Avengers #4

(***)

I have good news and bad news. I’ve always been one to take the bad news first. That way, you leave things on a positive note.

The Bad: There are so many, but a lot of them are little things. I’ll do my best to keep it brief. The characters are handled poorly, particularly the ones Bendis doesn’t know how to handle, like Noh-Varr. I don’t think he’d ever say, “I’ve got my hands full!” There’s also a “joke” where Noh doesn’t know what eBay is. This is the guy who learned everything about Earth, why wouldn’t he know what eBay is? Or why couldn’t he tell that Ms. Marvel (Moonstone) was hitting on him? He’s already had two loves. Also, Morgana Le Fay continues to be written horribly. She’s a lovesick bitch who dies again in this issue! What is that, four times now? That of course brings up the whole time nonsense, something a writer should never use unless it’s very clear and very necessary. This was neither. There’s even a moment in this issue where Doom talks about not screwing time up, and then by the end, Doom himself seemed to have done quite a bit of time-screwing.

The Good: My god, the art is beautiful. I mean, Deodato has always been good, but this is ridiculous, even his page layouts are getting more dynamic. As I’m sure you all know, Bendis loves his splash-pages. There’s about six or so, in here. Even though we’re wasting six of the 22 pages in a four-dollar comic, you probably won’t complain much because Deodato’s renderings are so gorgeous. You can get wallpaper from this issue here. It should also be mentioned that Rain Beredo’s coloring adds tremendously, as well.

Final Word: There are some good moments. The last page is pretty cool. Then again, it’s mostly Mike Deodato that makes it cool. The writing isn’t terrible, but there were certainly a lot of mistakes. The first arc concludes, an arc that probably should have been an issue or two less. This issue should probably be about two stars, but I’m a sucker for the art. I do like the characters, despite Bendis’ occasional mishandling, and I am interested in where things are going. I’ll probably stick around until the end of Fraction’s upcoming arc, and then we’ll see. For the rest of you, proceed with caution.

Review: New Avengers #50

(***)

I don’t want to spoil anything because I want to warn you. The New Avengers do not fight the Dark Avengers in this issue. So if that was the reason why you were going to buy this issue, you can save your fin. If you’re still willing to throw down your cash, at least you won’t be as disappointed when the big promised fight doesn’t come.

I’d like to say that something even better than the predictable Avengers vs. Avengers battle occurs in this issue, but that would be lying, and lies make baby Jesus cry. The fact is, you still get something you’ve seen before and it’s still very much in the spirit of Dark Reign, so you shouldn’t be too disappointed. What makes the “big fight” unique, is the guest artists, Bryan Hitch, Steve McNiven, David Aja, and more. These artists pencil a page featuring a character that they’ve drawn before or will draw soon. It’s a nice technique that makes a forgettable fight memorable.

This of course brings me to the main artist, Billy Tan. I’ve never thought that Tan, despite his recent improvement, was good enough to handle such an important Marvel title, and his art looks even uglier here. It’s possible that he was rushed, but whatever the reason, the art looks bad, especially when it’s next to the renderings of some of the most talented artists working today. What’s worse than its actual appearance, are the several repeated panels throughout the book. Not only does Billy Tan’s art look poor, but this book makes Tan seem lazy as well.

Overall, for the five dollars you spend to purchase this book, you’ll get a mixed bag. The art ranges from bad to great and so does the writing. A lot of Bendis’ jokes fall flat. And even though Bendis tried to throw us a curve ball, the end result proved much more annoying than what was actually promised. However, even though the comic has its flaws, I couldn’t help but feel all warm and fuzzy at the end. I’m not the biggest Hawkeye fan, but I couldn’t help but jump with glee when it came to this book’s last couple of pages. It’s a pleasing finale that promises good things to come.

Review: Dark Avengers #2

(*)

Because I review comics, every now and then I check out what others have to say about the books I read, especially if they have the ability to peruse them before I do. A sterling derivation for this is Line of Fire Reviews. A reviewer there I greatly admire, Paul Brian McCoy, has pointed out some devastating errors in this comic and I have to say, he’s right. You can find his review here. Because Mr. McCoy already did a great job criticizing this comic, using tools like research and logic (Tools I’m not fond of utilizing), I’ll take a moment to present an abridged version of my review. It stinks.

This comic is written for a 12-year-old, which is fine, as long as it has a Marvel Adventures tag somewhere on the cover. This, however, does not. In fact, it’s trying to be the edgy, macabre, and wickedly humorous  romp that Ellis’ Thunderbolts was. I’m faced with a conundrum. I adore Deodato’s art and fancy half of the Dark Avengers’ roster. Conversely, this comic contains repetitive nonsense like  ”Gagagoo! Gadapoo!”, time paradoxes, and the De-evolution of Morgana Le Fay, she’s an enraged scorned crazy-girl! Women, can’t live with ‘em, eh Bendis? So, do I continue reading this book with my brain turned off, or do I face the sad truth that Ellis’ Thunderbolts are long gone? I think it’s time to leave the party before the drunk shoots somebody.